For many years, endurance running had a clearly defined upper limit of distance: the 26.2 miles that comprise a marathon. But just as climbers have discovered more challenging routes up mountains — and skiers faster ways to get down them — runners too have been carrying their sport’s torch into unchartered territories.
Catching Its Stride
Modern ultrarunning events had a curious creation in 1974, when Gordy Ainsleigh ran 100 miles between Squaw Valley and Auburn (before that day it was a horse route, but his went lame so he ran the distance instead) in what would later become the Western States Endurance Run. Since then, ultrarunning — any footrace longer than 26.2 miles — has enjoyed a slow but steady immersion into the American mainstream. While ultrarunners were still outnumbered eight-to-one by marathoners in the U.S. in 2013, more than 70,000 Americans currently participate in the growing sport each year, according to a 2015 article in Outside magazine.
Today, North America plays host to several hundred ultrarunning events annually, also called ultramarathons. Some are straightforward 50-kilometer (31-mile) races. Others are bizarre, like the Self-Transcendence 3,100-mile race in Queens, N.Y., in which participants run around a single city block 100 times per day for up to 50 consecutive days. If you were to stretch those 5,000 city blocks due west from the Big Apple, runners would find themselves overlooking a much different scene: the pristine environment of Lake Tahoe — site for the second-annual Tahoe 200 Endurance Run, a continuous 200-mile loop race around the lake.
A Lake Runs Through It
While the grind of running even a marathon may sound like a repugnant idea to many, 33-year-old Candice Burt, creator and race director of the Tahoe 200 Endurance Run, thinks differently.
“Running the Tahoe Rim Trail 100-mile race really developed my love for the Tahoe area. After that, I got this weird little thought in my head that I wanted to form a race around the entire lake,” Burt said. “Tahoe is iconic in terms of its trails, and there’s just nowhere else you could put on a 200-mile race quite like this. If you’re going to suffer, you might as well suffer in this beautiful place.”
Last year was the inaugural year for the Tahoe 200. The run saw 60 out of 90 participants finish the counter-clockwise loop within the 100-hour cutoff time. While there are other 200 mile ultraruns in the U.S., they are all either point-to-point races or repeated loops, making the Tahoe 200 the only continuous loop of this distance. The run will take place this year from September 11 to 15, starting and ending at Homewood Mountain Resort.
The race includes 171 miles of single-track, primarily on the Tahoe Rim Trail, 21 miles of 4×4 dirt roads, and eight miles of paved roads.
Endearing Endurance
So what compels individuals to take part in a 200-mile run that — from an outsider’s perspective — may seem like a ridiculous and unnecessary toll on mind and body?
“One of the biggest misconceptions about the sport is that you have to be a super athlete to be an ultrarunner, but it’s really quite accessible. The Tahoe 200 is more about people that share a desire to be a part of a community and go beyond the norm,” Burt said. “We enjoy a wide spectrum of ages and body types who participate. Some people use drugs to transcend the familiar existence of day-to-day life; some people use 200-mile races.”
Unlike many other ultrarunning events that primarily stress competition, the Tahoe 200 is geared more towards runners seeking a unique adventure.
“It’s an excellent opportunity to connect with nature because you’re out in this beautiful landscape away from your normal life for four days in a row. You always come out of it a changed person,” Burt said. “The event is also a great chance to make lifelong friends. I see people running in pairs or groups all the time. It’s almost like the bonding experience of going to summer camp.”
While it helps to have friends around for support during a race like the Tahoe 200, each individual must ultimately decide how to pace their own run and strategically plan when and where to drink water, eat, sleep, go to the bathroom, change socks, etc. There are 13 full aid stations located on the course — six of which offer sleeping accommodations. However, runners like Ewan Horsburgh, winner of the 2014 Tahoe 200 with a time of 61 hours and 32 minutes, often run on little to no sleep.
Running Down a Dream
The Tahoe 200 attracts a wide variety of personalities, but everyone who finishes the race shares a common trait — the mental fortitude to ride out the extreme highs and lows of an incredibly demanding four-day event.
“Dealing with sleep deprivation becomes a huge part of finishing these races,” said Rick Arikado, a seasoned ultrarunner who will be running his second Tahoe 200 this year. “Hallucinations are the norm. I managed to run over 80 hours without sleep, stopping only to reload food, water, and do shoe changes at aid stations. It’s all part of the toughness allure those who sign up are seeking.”
In addition to the personal challenges that the Tahoe 200 provides runners — like ascending and descending 40,000 vertical feet — the event is already becoming a favorite in the ultrarunning community for its unique approach to long-distance runs.
“The route is incredible, with plenty of the single-track dirt trails that we seek and stunning views the whole way,” Arikado said. “Looking across the lake from the west ridges and knowing that you will be traveling on foot to everywhere you can see from there is both scary and uplifting at the same time.”
